Monday, July 04, 2011 » 02:03pm LIVE News: Watch it now  Organisers of a Gaza-bound flotilla say they have not abandoned their plans to breach Israel's sea blockade.
 Organisers of a Gaza-bound flotilla say they have not abandoned their plans to breach Israel's sea blockade of the territory despite a Greek government ban on their vessels leaving Greek ports. The campaign suffered a major setback when Greece announced its restrictions on Friday, and authorities arrested the captain of a boat carrying American activists that tried to leave Greece without permission. However, organisers of the flotilla were trying to maintain momentum with planned protests in Athens in the face of increasing calls for them to scrap their campaign. Activist Dimitris Plionis said there would be 'some action' at the beginning of the week, but he did not specify what the pro-Palestinian activists were planning to do, presumably because Greek authorities might try to thwart their efforts. 'The ban is there and we have already said that we are still considering to sail,' Plionis said. 'This story is not finished.' Without elaborating, he noted that 'ships are free to go to other locations' besides Gaza. The comment raised the possibility that organisers have debated whether their vessels could declare they are bound for another destination, and then turn toward Gaza once they are in international waters. The flotilla has planned to carry medicine, construction equipment and other aid to the coastal strip. Israel says it imposed the blockade in 2007 to stop weapons reaching Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza. Nine activists on a Turkish boat were killed last year in an Israeli raid on a similar flotilla, and Israel eased its land blockade after an international uproar over the incident. But Israel has pledged to thwart any attempt to reach Gaza by sea, and that aid deliveries can occur through its own established channels. Activists reject that option, saying Israeli restrictions on the Palestinian territory of 1.5 million amount to a human rights violation. The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip on Sunday called on Greece to allow a flotilla of aid ships to set sail for the Israeli-blockaded Palestinian territory. 'We regret the position of Greece, which has responded to international pressure to stop the Freedom Flotilla from sailing,' Hamas foreign minister Mohamed Awad told a news conference at Gaza's port. 'We call on them to reconsider their ban on the flotilla setting sail and to allow them to leave,' he added. Also on Sunday, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat condemned the Middle East diplomatic Quartet after it sought to discourage new flotillas from sailing to Gaza. 'The blockade on Gaza should be immediately lifted, not eased. That is the only appropriate and acceptable message,' Erakat said in a statement. 'We invite (the Quartet) to focus on resolving the root cause of the conflict, which is the occupation, rather than seeking ways to manage its destructive symptoms,' Erakat said. On Saturday the Quartet, with representatives from the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, said the flotillas were not helpful. 'The Quartet recognises that Israel has legitimate security concerns that must continue to be safeguarded,' it said in a statement, adding that 'enabling movement and access for Palestinian people and goods are critical'. Activists have accused Israel of sabotaging the damaged ships and putting political pressure on Athens to prevent the vessels from sailing. Israel has denied any sabotage of the ships, but ministers have expressed satisfaction at the flotilla's difficulties. The Jewish state warned that it would not allow the ships to break its blockade of the Hamas-run territory. | |
Monday, July 4, 2011
Flotilla plans to breach blockade
